The current state of healthcare in the United States urgently needs a more sustainable model. It is riddled with inefficiencies and dominated by powerful entities like insurance companies, big pharma, and medical device manufacturers. To address these issues, we need a complete overhaul of the system from the ground up, focusing on patient care, affordability, and transparency. This radical reinvention should strip healthcare to its bare bones, emphasizing the pressing need for immediate action.

Envision a world where healthcare is within reach for everyone, costs are transparent and manageable, and innovation flourishes, enhancing the lives of millions. In this world, families no longer face financial ruin due to medical expenses, and everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status, has access to high-quality care. This vision, while ambitious, is firmly rooted in practical reforms and feasible solutions, offering a realistic and optimistic future for healthcare in the United States.

Let's embark on a journey to reimagine healthcare, exploring how we can transform the current system into one that balances the strengths of the free market with the principles of fairness and affordability.

While I value consumers' rights and pocketbooks, I also understand the immense costs hospitals face to keep their doors open. With its overpriced algorithms and exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, the current healthcare model is broken. Insurance companies and Medicare practice medicine, adding complexity and cost that detract from patient care.

We are witnessing the emergence of a parallel economy in healthcare, with primary care physicians and outpatient surgery centers offering more transparent pricing and services. However, this shift only scratches the surface. It does not address the needs of those requiring more extensive care or free healthy 65-year-olds from the clutches of CMS and Medicare.

A Call for a Comprehensive Reform Committee

The current state of healthcare in the United States is unsustainable, riddled with inefficiencies, and dominated by powerful entities like insurance companies, big pharma, and medical device manufacturers.

To address these issues, we need a complete overhaul of the system from the ground up, focusing on patient care, affordability, and transparency. This radical reinvention should strip healthcare down to its bare bones.

Imagine a world where healthcare is accessible to everyone, costs are transparent and manageable, and innovation thrives, improving the lives of millions. In this world, families no longer face financial ruin due to medical expenses, and everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status, has access to high-quality care. This might sound like a utopian dream, but it is a vision grounded in achievable reforms and practical solutions.

Let's embark on a journey to reimagine healthcare, exploring how we can transform the current system into one that balances the strengths of the free market with the principles of fairness and affordability.

To mend this broken system, we require a healthcare reform committee to address all issues and lay a robust foundation for modern medicine. This foundation should ensure fair healthcare payment and safeguard against fraud while establishing a central charge master of allowable charges.

t's not a fictional guideline set by insurance companies or Medicare but a transparent, honest standard, providing reassurance and confidence in the proposed changes.

The Need for True Healthcare Reform

While I value the rights and pocketbooks of consumers, I also understand the immense costs hospitals face to keep their doors open. The current healthcare model, with its overpriced algorithms and exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, is broken.

Insurance companies and Medicare are essentially practicing medicine, adding layers of complexity and cost that detract from patient care.

We are witnessing the emergence of a parallel economy in healthcare, with primary care physicians and outpatient surgery centers offering more transparent pricing and services.

However, this shift only scratches the surface. Remember, It does not address the needs of those requiring more extensive care, nor does it free healthy 65-year-olds from the clutches of CMS and Medicare.

While some advocate for universal healthcare, I am not a cheerleader for this approach. Instead, I am a consumer cheerleader, advocating for a system that balances consumer rights with the financial realities hospitals face. The current state of healthcare, especially in states like California, needs to be revised. Offering more free healthcare and promoting "healthcare for all" under the guise of denying care to individuals is misleading. Some individuals fall through the cracks, but the system's imbalance is apparent.

For example, in the late 80s and 90s, I worked in a small hospital in San Bernardino County. While the hospital should have been delivering 30-60 babies per month, we were giving over 100. The percentage of commercial insurance was meager, with most patients on Medi-Cal. This imbalance meant that 85% of commercial and self-pay patients effectively subsidized the 15% on Medicaid. However, the numbers were reversed, with 85% on Medicaid and 15% on commercial and self-pay. This model is not sustainable.

Implementing Fair and Transparent Pricing

We need to adopt fair and transparent pricing mechanisms to address these disparities. We also need to put insurance in its proper place and improve the deployment of a more diverse and mix and match model that is portable and fair.

Michael F. Cannon and the Cato Institute have laid the foundation for actual U.S. healthcare reform. Cannon's insights and research highlight an innovation that could revolutionize healthcare pricing. By making patients more price-conscious, this innovation led to significant price reductions across various medical services, including MRI scans, CT scans, knee and shoulder arthroscopy, cataract removal, hip and knee replacements, colonoscopies, and lab tests.

This innovation, known as "reference pricing" or a "reverse deductible," involves insurers setting a fixed amount they will pay for a procedure, with patients covering any excess costs. This approach makes patients more invested in the cost of their care, driving down prices and increasing transparency.

Advocating for Doctors and Patient Autonomy

A crucial aspect of this reform is advocating for doctors to return to the practice of medicine, free from the burdens of acting as government statisticians. By removing unnecessary bureaucratic tasks, we can restore the focus on patient care, allowing doctors to dedicate their time and expertise to treating patients rather than navigating complex administrative requirements.

Empowering patients with greater autonomy over their healthcare decisions is equally important. Patients can take a more active role in managing their health by providing clear, transparent pricing and reducing the control of insurance companies and Medicare over medical choices. This shift enhances the patient experience and promotes more informed and cost-effective healthcare decisions.

Call to action: people from the trenches like myself and many others who could build a functioning, sustainable healthcare for all. A blueprint to resolve so many issues in the industry we call Healthcare.